


The Day The Angel Fell

by Rikaleeta



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/F, Lena Luthor Finds Out Kara Danvers is Supergirl, Lena Luthor Knows Kara Danvers Is Supergirl
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-08
Updated: 2019-02-01
Packaged: 2019-10-06 23:52:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 6
Words: 9,582
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17355020
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Rikaleeta/pseuds/Rikaleeta
Summary: Supergirl is dead.The news sends ripples across the city, raising fear and anger and misery. Most of all for Lena Luthor, who has finally realized her feelings for Kara.Lena halts all her other projects in attempt to bring Kara back. After all, it's only breaking the space- time continuum to bring back her first and best friend. How hard can it be?





	1. Sometimes Silence Is Louder Than Words

**Author's Note:**

> Basically me bingeing season 4 and having the random thought "what if supergirl died" at a would be happy ending. So yeah angst brain never shuts off lol

The entire city was abuzz, and yet the entire city was silent.

The people spoke to each other in hushed whispers. _‘Did you hear?’ ‘Of course I did, how could I not?’ ‘How did it happen?’ ‘How_ could _it happen?’_

An air of grief hung over the city. As if to pay their own respects, no criminals did their deeds today. People watched the news story wherever they could.

The local electronics shop on their TV display, their phones, at home if they were lucky enough to be home on a Wednesday. The reporter spoke in a matter of fact way, but her makeup barely covered her purple- rimmed eyes and her bloodshot scleras. She had been crying. Most people in National City had, and people beyond the city for that matter. “ _We have received confirmation: Supergirl is dead._ ”

It was like there was still an ounce of hope in the city, held by everyone. After all, wasn't it Supergirl herself that taught them to hope? During project Myriad, and when the Daxamites invaded, and especially when people from her own planet sought to hurt them. But now the hope was gone, and you could taste the misery, the greif, the hopelessness in the air. Most people barely heard the reporter's next words. _Our contacts at the FBI have told us they will reveal Supergirl's secret identity within the hour, so that those close to her may pay their respects_. It made sense. After all, no matter super she was, how could one person have two funerals?

 

\------

 

Alex Danvers stood outside Lena Luthor's office. She was already barely functioning after losing her sister, but she needed to tell Lena. She wanted it to hear it from her, not a news reporter. She steeled herself and knocked.

Lena's voice came from inside. “It's unlocked.” She walked in, and Lena pressed a button on her computer to mute it. She heard the news reporter before the office fell silent. Alex wasn't surprised. Everyone was watching the news this morning.

Lena looked up to see Alex. She, quite frankly, looked like shit. She wasn't surprised; she and Supergirl had seemed pretty close. She herself had been busily shoving unwanted emotions into little boxes all morning.

Alex walked over, sitting down across from Lena. “I wanted to tell you in person. Um, before the news.”

Lena gave her a weird look. Tell her what? What could she tell her that the news couldn't? She refocused when Alex cleared her throat to make way for the words. “It's about, uh.” She swallowed thickly. “It's about Kara.”

Lena's mind was immediately going a hundred miles a minute. Was she hurt? Sick? Dying? If she hadn't seen Kara with the flu, she would think it impossible for anything to stop or hurt the blond. But she also knew that she was only human.

She turned back in when Alex started talking again. “Kara is-” her voice dropped in volume- “was. Was Supergirl.”

Lena stared back in shock. She wanted to deny it. After all, Supergirl was dead. And Kara _couldn't_ be dead.

But the way Alex sat told her otherwise. So tense, her hands clenched in her lap. Feet rigid against the ground. Alex, who she had never seen cry and was quite convinced never did, was barely holding back tears.

And the pieces fell into place too well.

_I flew here on a bus._

She was so hurt when Lena made the Kryptonite.

She trusted Lena from the beginning, despite being a Luthor.

 _I was sent here by Kara Danvers._ _She never stopped believing in you._

That time she had been poisoned, and she dreamed she flew with Kara. It hadn't been a dream at all.

She wanted to be angry. She had a little box full of anger, of feelings of betrayal. It should be easy. But it seemed her boxes had disappeared altogether. All she could think was _Kara is dead._

She finally managed to find her voice. “What?” She croaked out.

Alex's lip was trembling. “I know she wanted to tell you. A lot. Especially recently. But-”

“Let me guess. She didn't trust me enough. Because I'm a Luthor.”

Alex actually laughed, as if remembering something. “No, that wasn't it. Sometimes she trusted you, even when it was downright stupid and all the evidence pointed to you being guilty.”

Supergirl's- Kara's- voice rang in her mind. ‘ _Kara Danvers sent me. She never stopped believing in you.’_ Lena felt like she couldn't breathe. Kara. Her first friend. Her best friend. Supergirl. Dead.

“Then why didn't she tell me?” She hated how her voice wobbled.

“Part of it was probably my fault, and J'onn's. In the beginning, we grilled her on how important it was to never tell anyone. But recently, it was for your protection. And the fact that the closer you two got, the more scared she was to tell you.”

She felt tears slip down her face. There were no boxes to put them in. She couldn't find an emotion to put in them anyway.

Alex stood up. “I have to go. There's… There's someone else I have to tell.” Lena nodded numbly. She barely remembered unmuting her laptop. “We now have confirmation of Supergirl's identity. She was Kara Danvers, a reporter at Catco Worldwide Media.”

 

\--------

 

It was days like these that Alex hated her job. Firing up the Transmat portal, requesting for the one on Argo to do the same. It wasn't long before the request was granted. Alura was always glad to see her daughter, and she probably thought Kara was the one wanting to come through. Alex hated having to be the one to break it to her.

Alura waited eagerly on the other side. Her face fell when she saw Alex all disheveled and obviously having recently cried. Alura knew something was wrong immediately. She tried to calm her panic. Maybe it was nothing.

She took a shuddering breath. “Kara?”

Alex miserably shook her head. “There was- something happened. She's-” Alex could barely get the words to leave her mouth. They still didn't feel real. “She's dead.” She whispered.

It was like Alura shattered before her eyes. She almost collapsed, but Alex caught her. She was screaming, shouting her pain to Rao. Alex cried with her as they sank to the ground. Alura clutched her like she was a lifeline. Sobs wracked both their bodies. Alura was angry in her grief. She had just gotten Kara back, and now she was gone all over again.

Alex pulled away a little. “We have to plan for the- the funeral.” Her voice was thick and soft. “I don't really know much about Kryptonian burial rites. But I know it's what she'd want.”

Alura nodded, never stopping her tears. Kara deserved a Kryptonian funeral. “It will take me a couple days. But I'll get everything we'll need.”

 

\------------

 

Lena had thrown herself into her work. Everyone at L- Corp had been given the week off until the funeral. She'd heard most schools had closed, too. No one could focus.

But she had to. She had decided that while she was angry at Kara for not telling her, grief was an excellent tool for forgiveness. Besides, she could be mad at Kara when she succeeded.

She scoffed. _When_ , not _if._ Those were the thoughts floating around in her head. As if time travel wasn't a field highly researched with still almost no information on it.

But Kara's death had also made her realise one other thing. It was the reason she'd already broken up with James, though he thought it was because her best friend had died. That was partially true; that's what kicked her in the ass and made her realise it, anyway. She suspected she'd known for a while. How she felt around James and how she felt around Kara were completely different. She was in love with Kara.

She kicked herself for not realising it sooner. She could have broken up with James to be with Kara without breaking the space-time continuum to do it.

The modified nanobytes from clearing the atmosphere already laid off to the side. It had been too late when she and Brainy figured it out, but at least now Superman could come back and her mother could come for the funeral (as well as half of Argo City, according to him).

Her mother's suit had long since been repaired, at least enough for her to use it to fly. To catch Supergirl before that fatal fall. All that was left was go back in time. Somehow.

She remembered Kara telling her about a speedster friend from another Earth. He was so fast, apparently, that he could run back in time.

Lena envied him for that. For it being so damn easy. And she couldn't ask the Legion. As much as they loved Supergirl, they wouldn't change time that much. Lena thought it was rather hypocritical, but she kept that to herself.

Lena looked at the clock and swore. The funeral was in a couple hours. Even if she planned on going back and fixing this mess, she had no idea how long it would take. It would be her last time seeing Kara until she could figure it out.

Fortunately, she had had the foresight to bring her clothes and a brush. There were still toiletries and dry shampoo and the like from when she was helping Sam. She changed quickly, doing her hair in a simple knot and putting on some light makeup.

She arrived earlier than was probably necessary, but it wasn't like she had anything better to be doing. It looked like those from Argo City were already there, along with half of National City. As a close friend of both Kara and Supergirl, Alex had insisted she sit with the family.

She had been told it would be a mixture of both Earth and Kryptonian ceremonies. It would be open casket, she was told, but there would be no grave. Kryptonians released their dead loved ones into space, to the sun god Rao, and the same would be done for Kara.

She wouldn't lie. She didn't understand it at all. She didn't understand believing in any sort of god. But she was never one to knock down the beliefs of others until they harmed others.

There was a woman by what Lena assumed to be Kara's casket. She turned as Lena approached. Her eyes were dark, bloodshot, and sunken, her hair looked like it hadn't been brushed in a week, but it was immediately obvious who it was. Alura. Kara's mother. Once again, she kicked herself for not noticing sooner. They looked so alike. How could Lena have not figured it out?

Alura gave her a small smile as she walked up to the casket. “Lena, right?” She asked. Lena nodded. “She told me so much about you.” Lena's heart gave a lurch. This wasn't fair. It wasn't fair how that sentence brought butterflies to her stomach. Because as far as Lena knew, she'd never figure out time travel, and Kara was gone forever, and it didn't matter if Kara had talked to mother about her romantically _or_ platonically.

She steeled herself and looked down. She was in there, open casket, just as they had said. She looked so peaceful. Not at all like a thousand foot drop had shattered most of her bones. Her hair splayed out like a halo, and she was holding flowers unfamiliar to Lena.

Alura saw Lena had noticed the flower. “It's called a Dar- Essa. She always had them in her room growing up.” Lena nodded, misty eyed, before going to take a seat.

A couple hours later was when a lot of the guests started coming. One appeared, seemingly out of nowhere, and from his looks Lena concluded that most be Kara's friend from another earth. Barry Allen. The Flash.

He deflated as he looked into the casket. As if all the air in the atmosphere had somehow been in his lungs, only to have it yanked out by force. “So it's true.” She heard him say. “Part of me hoped it was all some sick joke. How… how did someone…” by that time, he was crying, and a woman ran up to him.

“Barry, you can't just leave us behind on a strange-” her eyes fell on Kara. She nodded her respect before leading Barry off to the other side of the family section.

 _That must have been Iris. His wife._ Lena concluded, and there was a stab of jealousy. She might never get that chance.

Next, a couple walked up. One looked almost jarringly like Kara, except her hair was too light and she held herself just a little differently. She was with a tall, blonde man, and she knew that they must be Felicity Smoak and Oliver Queen. Lena couldn't bring herself to watch as they left and a large group approached. She knew they must be the Legends, if the two before them were any indication. But she was just ready for the service to start.

She soon got her wish. Alura walked up to the podium. It was customary for woman to lead a Kryptonian funeral, and she knew how to lead a Kryptonian ceremony. “Good afternoon.” She said with a wavering voice. “I'm Alura Zor- El. Thank you for coming today.” Lena didn't hear most of the rest of the ceremony.

She was surprised when she, Alex, and Eliza were asked to come to the casket. It was time to bid her final farewell. Lena had memorised the poem in advance. She knew what to say. But even if she didn't believe in the God she was praying to, it ripped her heart to pieces to say it.

She bit her lip as the four of them began to recite together. In the back of her mind, she barely registered the people of Argo City joining.

“You have been the sun of our lives. Our prayers will be the sun that lights your way on the journey home. We will remember you in every dawn and await the night we join you in the sky. Rao's will be done.”

Lena's voice caught in her throat as the casket sealed and began to float. With a brush of Alura's hand, it flew high enough that it became but a black spec, and took off toward the sun. _It's not goodbye forever._ Lena reminded herself, blinking back tears. _Only for now._


	2. That's Not How This Was Supposed To Happen

When Eve Teschmacher learned that research on the Harun- El was to be halted, she was angry to say the least.

“What do you mean, we're stopping, Lena? We lied to a Kryptonian, a high ranking one at that, and we're experimenting on things we shouldn't have. And we're so close!” She couldn't remember ever getting so worked up. It was probably because of Supergirl's passing.

Her secret identity was bittersweet to Eve. She still remembered getting that email from Kara, telling her that she'd gotten the job as Cat's assistant. She'd been so kind to her when she was learning, and after, too. She was going to miss her. Though, probably not as much as Lena. It was no secret the two were close friends.

“Sorry, Eve.” Lena sighed. “I'm not firing you, I promise. You'll have a job as a lab tech on whatever project you want. But there's too many other projects going on right now.” _Like my time travel ludicrousies_. She thought bitterly.

“Ok. I want a job on the Harun- El project.”

Lena forced a smile, but she barely managed to lift the corners of her lips at all. “Sorry, Eve. Your paycheck will continue no matter how long it takes to decide. I don't want this decision rushed.”

Eve bit her lip and stormed out of the office. It was the first time she'd stormed out of anything.

\--------

Alura ghosted the halls aimlessly. She loved seeing the places her daughter loved, where she worked. The DEO was so full of bustling and constant activity. It was a nice distraction.

There were so many rooms, and seeing how many she could count was a welcome alternative to the torrent of memories that assaulted her at every waking moment.

She had grieved her daughter once. Why was it so much harder this time? Was it because she was able to prepare herself, somewhat, the first time? Because the loss of her daughter was accompanied by the loss of her planet, and grieving with her city helped? She didn't know. She didn't care. She just wanted someone to wake her up, back on Argo, and tell her she'd been having nightmares.

She wandered into a new room, this one mostly metal and empty. A couple silver devices were off to the side, a punching bag near the middle of the room. Someone sat not far away from it, staring blankly at the wall.

“Director Danvers.” Alura meant for her voice to be warm, but she couldn't summon anything more than a broken whisper.

Alex barely turned. “Alura. I thought i asked you to call me Alex?”

Alura nodded, making to sit down next to her. “Right. Sorry.” She looked at the young woman next to her. “Where's your mother?”

“She had to go back to Midvale. With being the only one in that house, she can't afford to miss much work.”

Alura nodded in understanding. She wished she could help, but she doubted Kryptonian money had any value here.

The two women sat together in silence until Alex spoke. “You should have seen her when we found your hologram. She looked so happy. She thought she'd never see you again, and there you were. Well, hologram you, but still you.”

Alura smiled a bit. “The way she spoke of you and your family when we were reunited… I couldn't have asked for a better family to take her in. You were so kind to her. I can't imagine dealing with the loss of Krypton, coming of age, and learning to use these powers all at once.” Alura looked at her hand while she spoke, flexing it. It honestly scared her how much power was in those muscles.

Alex let out a short bark of a laugh. “It wasn't easy. I'll admit, I resented her at first. But… she was an amazing sister.”

Alura looked at Alex. “Tell me about it?”

Alex softened a bit. “Only if you tell me about her before she came to Earth.”

\----------

Lena zapped herself for the millionth time that hour. _Wow, she told herself, you're such a good scientist. Zapping yourself like a sorry grade schooler investigating some old device._

She sighed, allowing herself to sit. She glanced at the clock. Was it really already 9 o'clock? Had she really been up all night?

As tired as Lena was, she couldn't bring herself to sleep. Every time she closed her eyes, she saw the same thing. The news reported telling the public Supergirl was dead. Then Alex telling her Kara was Supergirl.

Lena sighed. She'd known she was bisexual since late in her teenage years, but of course her first girl crush in years died before she realised what her feelings for her were.

She had holed herself away from the outside world after the funeral a week ago on purpose. Many people were realizing how close Kara and Lena were, and therefore how close she and Supergirl were. It was well known that she helped Supergirl sometimes, but for a Super and a Luthor to be friends… well, people had questions.

So she barely left her office. Barely left her lab, for that matter. She almost didn't notice when Jess came on over the intercom. “Lena, there's a Winn Schott Jr here to see you? I think he brought you food.”

Lena stood tiredly. Winn was one of Kara's close friends, so he could probably be trusted. “Let him in.” Lena told her. She shed her lab coat, which had practically become a second skin, and walked to her office to meet him.

The door opened as her lab door closed. Jess let Winn inside, shutting it behind her. He sheepishly held up a paper bag. “I brought Big Belly Burger. Figured you hadn't been eating much.”

Lena only nodded, gesturing for him to sit on the couch. She joined him, sitting on the opposite end as he pulled out a couple burgers and some fries. “It might be cold because it's not exactly close to the office, but I figured Noonan's probably wouldn't be a good idea.”

Lena nodded. It would probably dredge up more memories than she would like to admit. “Thank you.” She said, not making a move to take any food. The very thought of eating made her feel sick.

“Lena, you should eat. You look like you haven't eaten since the- in a week.” Winn brought himself up short. Funeral talk was not good for trying to get CEOs to eat.

Lena arched an eyebrow, begrudgingly picking up a fry. “I know you and Kara were close. How are you handling it?” That was what you were supposed to say, right? She honestly couldn't say she'd been to the funeral of someone she'd cared about before.

Winn exhaled. “Better than anyone at the DEO. Or you, for that matter. Being in the future has its perks. Like knowing exactly when and how Supergirl died before I got the news from Alex and the others.” He paused. “What about you? I know you two were really good friends.”

Lena could have laughed. She hadn't eaten in a week and she hadn't been seen outside her office. How did he think she was doing?

Apparently, Winn sensed the hostility. “Sorry.” Lena nodded, picking up another fry. It was getting easier to eat, taking it slowly, but it was mostly to placate Winn for her next question. “So. You're from the future, right? How does that work?”

It was Winn's turn to quirk an eyebrow. But it seemed a facade, and a bad one at that; she could see relief and… understanding? in his eyes. He casually picked up his burger. “The Legion could kill me- figuratively, but ya know- of I told you how we use a disruption in our solar system to time travel.” He laid a hand over his mouth, feigning horror- badly. “Oops.”

Lena rolled your eyes. “And what would they do to you if you told someone how that works?”

“Well, I'd probably only tell people that finish their Big Belly Burger meal.” He said. She looked at him, and his gaze was firm. “You need food.”

Lena shrugged. It was as good a plan as any. He knew how time travel worked, and if she didn't want to possibly spend years figuring it out, years without Kara or Supergirl, then she'd have to stomach her first food in a week. She casually dusted the fry salt off her fingers, as if it were merely a hypothetical question and she was going to eat anyway, and picked up the other burger.

“It's ok to have emotions, you know.” Winn said suddenly. She looked at him, asking him what he meant with her eyes, since her mouth was full. “I just mean- you haven't let a single emotion through since I've been in this office, and I know you haven't been letting yourself feel when you're by yourself.”

Lena swallowed. “Luthors don't need emotions. Not when they have something to get done.”

Winn held up his hands in surrender. “I'm just saying it's not healthy, suppressing your emotions.” Lena didn't respond, but she noticed he didn't press on what she meant by _“things to get done.”_ It was probably obvious, with her not-so-subtle questions, but it was still nice. “Look at that.” Lena said, crumbling her wrapper up. “I'm all done.”

Winn swallowed the last bite of his. “And because you're done, I might hypothetically tell you we control the disruption with tachyons, even if the Legion might hypothetically eviscerate me. That they automatically multiply in a glass containment cell at 300 degrees Kelvin.”

Lena leaned back, eating the last fry. “You sure do tell people a lot. Hypothetically.” She paused as he muttered under his breath about ungrateful hypotheses. “Why?” She meant more ‘why tell me’, but Winn knew what she meant without the rest of the words.

He cast his gaze down sadly. “Because this isn't how Supergirl was supposed to die.” He whispered. He glanced at his watch, so obviously an excuse for his next words. “Oh, look at the time! I better be going! Don't want to get in the way of your… things.”

Before Lena could stop him, he was off the sofa and halfway to the door when something fell out of his pocket. Lena hurried off the couch. “Wait, you dropped-” she was cut off by the clock of the door, but Lena was more distracted by the glass vial and its contents. She smiled.

Tachyons.

\----

After another two weeks of working and forcing herself to eat, Lena believed she was onto something.

Several jars sat around the lab, similar to the ones that had held the hearts during the Harun- El project, only now tiny golden tachyons lazily floated within its boundaries. Winn was right; the things replicated like rabbits at 300 degrees Kelvin.

She zapped herself for the zillionth time that hour, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She was working with an entirely new energy source, and not only that, she was _so close_ to making it work.

At Winn’s mention of a “disturbance”, she set the tachyons to replicate and went about finding one. She successfully located one using one of the telescopes she’d helped fund for NASA ( _‘you never know when a giant telescope with your name in the sponsorship section will come in handy,’_ she’d reasoned) and several days of research on it before she was finally able to recreate it, just for her tachyon research. It actually used a lot of the same technology as the transmat portals. She’d spent the rest of the two weeks trying to figure out how to manipulate the tachyons so she could go exactly where she wanted to go- in both time and space.

So far, she’d only figured out time (she hoped- she really didn’t want to end up in the Stone Age by accident) but that was good enough for her. She could get to the substantially more reliably disturbance in space and get back in time to save Kara. She just needed enough oxygen and fuel in her mother’s suit. Why her mother had made a suit suitable for speedy interplanetary travel, Lena wasn’t sure, but she wasn’t about to complain.

As much as Lena wanted to leap her table and don the suit and just go back now, so she could save Kara and be properly angry at her, she restrained herself. She could do that anytime, and it would still be the same series of events from anyone else’s perspective, even if she took another hour or day to run some more tests.

The first was incredibly cliche, and she had been running it nonstop for the past week. It had worked last time, now she just had to make sure it wasn’t an anomaly.

She fired up the machine which very conveniently made a disruption right there in her own lab. It was too small for much to fit through, but she would take what she would get. She put in the right amount of tachyons for the time travel she wanted her test subject- a pristine tennis ball- to take. About thirty seconds into the future.

She was about to put in the ball when another came flying out of the portal and hit her square in the chest. She blinked in surprise before feeding her own ball in. _Either this worked and I’m moving on to time travelling backward or this literally backfired._ She knelt to inspect the ball that had hit her, turning it and discovering a number 2 in her handwriting. She grinned, ducking as her subject 1 came careening out of the portal. Seemed her theory on reverse tachyons had worked- now she just had to let past her know that. She dumped a few of them into the portal, and fed in subject 2. When it didn’t fly out, Lena assumed it had gone back in time.

Perfect. It was time for the animal trials.

\-----

Two days later, Lena was quite satisfied with the results. She might have continued researching if hers wasn’t the only life on the line, or if she wasn’t so desperate to see Kara again, or the agreed 20 day mourning period wasn’t just about over. A Kryptonian tradition, even the criminals seemed to be respecting it for some reason.

So she donned the suit, grabbed the vessel for the one that would clear Kara’s lungs, as well as the nanobytes and the reverse tachyons. She caught her reflection in a window, quirking an eyebrow. She looked like one of those ridiculous mechas from one of those “animes” Lex had been obsessed with. She shook her head, planting her helmet firmly on her head. There should be plenty of oxygen and fuel to get to the disturbance and back. She hoped.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if this one's a little dryer than the last, but I didn't want it to be like "oh Lena can time travel now yay!" But anyway that's why there's a double update, I didn't want to leave it on this note =P


	3. It Feels Like Forever Ago

Lena checked the time in the helmet. The displays were almost too bright for her eyes out here in space, but Earth was within her sights again, so the mainframe should be automatically synching with one of the nearest satellites. Even if it wasn’t one of National City’s, it would tell her if she had come back to the right time. 

The helmet gave a cheerful beep as it updated her date and time, and Lena heaved a sigh of relief. Nov, 4, 2018, 6:11 PM, PST. She gave a dark chuckle. The suit had been kind enough to synch with the time of the place she was going to. 

Right about now, Lena knew she would be finally breaking down the firewall into the DEO Comms. She had been wanting to be in the know in case Supergirl needed some help, and it didn’t hurt that she could keep an eye (or ear) on the woman. What she hadn’t been expecting was to hear the panicked voice of Alex Danvers telling J’onn that kryptonite had been released into the atmosphere and Supergirl was nowhere to be found. She bit back tears, remembering J’onn’s solemn voice over the radios. “I am so sorry, Alex. I didn’t make it in time.”

She shook her head. The desert was in her sights now, and that was what she was here to fix. The Kryptonite would be released any second now, and the suit’s GPS led her to where Kara had hit the earth. 

She entered the atmosphere, and all at once the suit was going haywire. The kryptonite had been released. 

She scanned the skyline, looking for Kara, and Alex’s voice came on the comms. She was panicking, calling for Supergirl. 

Lena saw her as Alex began calling for J’onn. She stopped talking, but Lena wasn’t paying attention to her anymore. She was flying right for Kara, trying to catch her before it was too late. If Kara hit terminal velocity, it wouldn’t do much good where she was caught. 

“J’onn, we’ve got a bogey. It’s heading right for Kara.” Lena’s heart squeezed at the words. She knew Kara was Supergirl, but it hurt every time someone said it out loud. As much as she loved Kara, she was still hurt that she hadn’t trusted her enough, that she had lied to her. And she would address that, right after she saved her.

She bit her lip as she finally got close enough to Kara, close enough to reach out and grab her, to hold her tight against her chest and lower the both of them gently to the ground. “J’onn.” The voice said in her ear, breathless. “It saved her.”

J’onn’s voice came on next, telling Alex he’d be there soon to investigate and get Kara back to the DEO. But there wasn’t time to travel that far, Lena knew. Every vein in Kara’s body seemed to be glowing eerie green, and she was already gasping for breath. It would have caused Lena less pain if someone had stabbed her than to see that. No wonder Kara had been so angry when Lena made Kryptonite. She knew they were close friends, but then Kara’s close friend had done something that caused her huge amounts of pain. 

Lena shoved her thoughts away as she lowered Kara to the ground. Kara opened her eyes blearily. “Lena?” she smiled. “My angel…” her eyes fluttered closed again, and Lena wasted no time in putting the fullbody suit on Kara. The mask closed over her face, immeditately beginning to filter the air for Kara to breathe. Next, she pulled the nanobyte launcher out of the sack she had made, getting it working about clearing the Kryptonite, before breathing a sigh of relief. 

She had made it. It wasn’t too late this time. 

A sound overhead made her look up and remove her helmet. Now to explain all this to those at the DEO.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Little bit shorter (ok a lot) but now Kara's safe yay! And Lena *is* mad that Kara didn't tell her. I really don't want to brush over that, because she has every right to be. It's just anger was a little outweighed by grief until now. Now she can be properly mad and we can start to explore the path to forgiveness =P


	4. And Yet Here We Are

It was strange, to say the least, sitting at Kara's bedside, with her mother's exo- suit still on, waiting for her to wake up. The green glow had subsided, and the nanobytes had finished clearing the atmosphere, so the fullbody suit had been removed. 

J’onn had looked immensely surprised when he had arrived to take Supergirl back to the DEO, but he hadn’t said anything yet. She assumed he was holding out on his questions until Alex was there to grill her with him. 

Her suspicions were confirmed when Alex entered the room with J’onn, arms crossed and trying to look angry. Mostly she just looked relieved. “So, Luthor. You wanna tell me what you were doing in the desert of Nevada in your mother’s weaponised assault suit?”

Lena looked up. She was going to sound crazy, but then again, didn’t Luthors always go crazy in the end? “I was saving Supergirl. I actually came from the future, one where I wasn’t there. One where J’onn didn’t get there in time.” Her voice dropped off as she remembered J’onn’s broken voice over the radio comms, turning it off before she started crying. “One where Supergirl died.”

Alex looked like she’d been sucker punched, but kept up a brave face. “Really? The future? Time travel isn’t going to be invented for hundreds of years, and Winn told me it’s not even L-Corp that cracks it.”

Lena nodded, her face impassive. “Yes, actually, Winn was the one who told me how to do it. Not explicitly, he just laid the groundwork and I figured it out from there.”

Alex snorted. “And what, exactly, did you do to make him tell you?”

 

There it was. If Alex’s first words weren’t enough, those were enough to confirm that all Alex’s trust in her was out the window. “Nothing, actually. He came to my office on his own and told me that they use disruptions within our solar system, and use tachyons to manipulate them. Then he left me some tachyons and I figured out the rest.”

Alex’s eyebrows raised a fraction of centimeter. “Don’t try to impress me that you know how time travel works, Luthor, because I don’t know how it works, so for all I know you could be talking out your ass.” At Lena’s arched eyebrow, she continued talking. “Winn, or the rest of the Legion, for that matter, won’t tell us. It could mess up the timeline. Butterfly effect and all.”

Lena nodded. She looked at Kara again. “Look, I came back because… even after you told me who she was, even though I was so angry she didn’t tell me… I can’t lose Kara.”

Alex looked like Supergirl had punched her in the stomach. Her voice was breathless when she spoke. “What?”

Lena nodded. “Everyone was told her secret identity after she died. But you came and told me at my office yourself. Said you wanted me to hear it from you, not some news reporter.”

Alex backed up and sat down on a neighboring gurney. That was exactly what she would do. And then, she would-

“You rushed off and said you had someone else to tell. Next thing I knew, the ‘strange Kryptonian that helped defeat the Worldkillers’ was in town, and Supergirl had told me that was her mother, so I assume you went to Argo City.”

Alex was rubbing her face now. After a minute, she spoke. “...ok. Ok, I can’t totally say I believe you, but there should be a way to prove it.” She took Lena’s arched eyebrow as a cue to continue. “The you of this time. Where would she be?”

“Uh, yeah, about that.” Lena said. “I found out during my trials that somehow, with the synthetic reverse tachyons I engineered to go back in time instead of forward, anyone who made the time leap will remember the erased timeline. Meaning the me that’s in my office right now- yes, I’m in my office- remembers the timeline I’m from.”

Alex’s eyebrows were in her hairline now. She sighed. “Ok. Yes, great. Another person knows.”  
She rubbed her face. “Geez, I know I wanted her to tell you, but…” She was looking at the ceiling now. 

Remembering the other Alex telling her it was partially her fault Kara never told Lena, that sentence hurt a bit. “You… wanted her to tell me?”

“Yeah, but it’s not like I ever told her that. If I had it my way, the only ones who would know who she is are me and mom.”

At that, the claws at Lena’s heart loosened. As much as Lena wanted to say that Kara just didn’t want to disappoint her family by telling someone, she knew that was just a grab at straws. After all, Winn knew. She had told him. James knew, he had to. And she was willing to bet that Lucy Lane knew, as well as a good number of other people at the DEO. Who else had she told before Lena? Had she told Sam?

Alex seemed to read her mind. “If it makes you feel any better, she really only told three people.”

Lena opened her mouth to tell Alex exactly what she thought of that, but Alex held up her hand and cut her off. “She only told Winn, Lucy, and Mon- El. She told Winn right after she saved that plane for the first time, because she needed help being Supergirl. She told Lucy because she and James needed her help, and Lucy didn’t trust Supergirl. But she trusted Kara. And she told Mon- El because she was helping him get a normal life on earth after he crash landed here.”  
Lena tried to talk again, to ask about everyone else, but Alex kept talking. “James already knew about her when he came to National City. Superman told him. And J’onn knew about her, too, my dad told him when he asked him to take care of us. The Legion knows because Mon- El told them when he formed it. And I told Maggie because- well, because I thought I was going to marry her.”

Lena nodded. She could understand why everyone else had been told, but she couldn’t figure out why she hadn’t. Was she not actually important to Kara? That thought was terrifying in and of itself.

“I think she was about to tell you, you know.” Alex told her. “It’s been weighing on her a lot, keeping it from you. But James told her not to, that right now it would only be to make her feel better and not really for your benefit.” In that moment, Lena resolved to punch James the next time she saw him.

Seeing Lena's face, Alex tried to steer the conversation back to where it was supposed to be. “So. What exactly is the you in the office… remembering?”

Lena arched an eyebrow at her. “Are you asking what I was doing last- tonight?” She took Alex's pointed look for a yes. “Well, I had been trying to get into the DEO comms channel for a while, and-”

Alex snorted. “Lena, you could've just asked. We trust you- kind of- and sometimes it would be nice if you were already updated on what's going on when we need you quickly.” Lena gave her a hard look. “Right. You're too proud to ask. Got it, sorry.”

Lena continued as if Alex hadn't spoken at all. “Tonight was when I finally hacked in. I got in just in time to hear you telling J'onn that Supergirl was falling, and about the kryptonite. And then him telling you it was too late.” Lena resisted the urge to bite her lip. “I turned it off after that.”

Alex nodded, standing. “J'onn, can you take me to Lena's office? If she's telling the truth, present Lena is probably having a panic attack.”

Lena nodded, making to move to get up. She wanted to be here when Kara woke up, so she could hug her and punch her and hug her again. 

\-----

It was only now that Lena was realizing that, as far as she knew, Kara was straight. 

Sure, she could be bi or pan or poly or any number of sexualities, but Lena had only seen her show interest in men. Which was not good for one's confidence in admitting feelings. 

Of course it was now, when Lena was panicking about this, that Kara chose to let out some sort of groan. Lena looked at her, and her face was scrunched up, before her eyes opened. “Ow. I feel like I just-”

“Fell twenty feet through the air only to be caught by a mechanized war suit?” Lena joked. “Morning, Sleeping Beauty.”

Kara rubbed her face, sitting up to lean on her elbows. “Yeah, that. How did you catch me, Lena?”

“Would you believe me if I said time travel?”

Kara let out a laugh, flopping back down. “You know, I'm not even surprised.”

That sent a thrill of fear through Lena. Was that a bad ‘I'm not surprised'? Was she still mad about the kryptonite? 

Seeing her face out the corner of her eye, Kara chuckled. “Lena, you're very smart. Of course you figured out time travel. That's not a snide remark. In fact, I, for one, am very glad you figured it out.”

Lena let out a breath. “Good. Because, Kara, we need to talk.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap?! I cant believe I already hit 150 kudos?! Thank you so much!!
> 
> If you wanna come screech with me, find me on tumblr (fabbamessuggesstedbytumbler). I'm trying to find more supercorp blogs to follow, and I post some art and Steven Universe stuff there too!


	5. Baby Steps

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's a little short, but I think any more would have dragged the chapter out too much. Anyway, I hope you enjoy!

_ National City, 6 Weeks From Now _

He sat behind his desk, leg bouncing, fingers tapping. His lip, hidden behind his mask, was worried at by his teeth to the point it bled. 

Finally, someone entered the room. They looked like they would rather be anywhere but here, from the way they shifted their weight from foot to foot and fiddled their fingers. They didn’t seem to be preparing to start talking anytime soon. His patience, already wearing thin from anxiety, snapped. “Speak!” He barked.

The person, also masked, let out a squeak. “S-sir, it’s worse than we thought.” They paused, shifting their weight again. “Supergirl has become a martyr, just like you feared. But it’s bad. It’s really bad. There’s a new tag, it’s everywhere, #aliensbelong. Everyone is sharing stories of everyday aliens, the ones that don’t make a fuss. Neighbors are villainising our cleansing attacks, especially the ones on Thanksgiving. Our numbers are vanishing and theirs are growing exponentially. And while we could get away with a few smaller alien deaths, people are calling for blood with Supergirl’s death.”

Agent Liberty chewed his lip. It was a wonder he still had one. But when he looked up at the nervous agent, something was immediately obvious. “There’s more.”

The Agent nodded, fiddling with their gloves. “Lena Luthor disappeared. No one knows exactly how long ago, her assistant isn’t talking to anyone but the police.”

Agent Liberty arched an eyebrow before remembering his underling couldn’t see it. “And?”

“T-there are rumors going around. She suddenly halted a personal project, she disappeared into her lab. Apparently, Ka- Supergirl was her best friend. From our research, the two most likely causes of her disappearance are her going back in time to save Supergirl and suicide.”

Agent Liberty felt like planting his head in his desk. Idiots, all of them. “And where would you get an idea like time travel?”

The Agent licked their lips. “We had a couple Agents on the police force when they searched Luthor’s office and lab. We’ve been working on time travel ourselves, as you know, though we don’t know much more than it uses tachyons.” They inhaled sharply. “Which Lena Luthor was keeping in her personal lab, alongside a strange device. It looks like a prototype.”

Agent Liberty rubbed his face. Well, his mask. “Then follow her. Find where in time she went back to. Kill her. We can’t have her save Supergirl. Supergirl has to die. And if you get back after Lena has saved her,  _ find another way to kill her. _ ”

“Wha-”

“I don’t care which Lena you kill, the result will be the same. Just. Kill. Her.”

The Agent gave a squeaky nod and scampered from the room.

\------

_ National City, Present Day _

  
  


“Good. Because, Kara, we need to talk.”

The words sent a thrill of fear through Kara. On one hand, it was because of the obvious bad connotations that came with those words. But also, how did she know who she was? 

“W-What?” she managed to croak. 

Lena fiddled with her fingers. “Alex told me. In the future. Because in  _ my  _ timeline, I wasn’t there to catch you, and neither was J’onn, and Kara, you  _ died _ -” She cut herself off as she realised she was rambling, swallowing back tears. “Why didn’t you tell me? Do you- do you not actually trust me?”

Kara looked positively horrified by those words. “Lena, of  _ course  _ I trust you. It’s just…” She sighed running her fingers through her hair. “At first, it was the usual I-trust-you-as-much-as-I-trust-anyone-I’ve-known-for-two-months. And then it was Alex-and-J’onn-will-literally-kill-me-if-I-tell-her-because-even-though-I-trust-her-they-don’t.” She paused, groaning. “I really wish I’d told you then. Because after that, when they finally trusted you, I was scared you would hate me for not telling you. And as time went on, I got more and more scared. I kept saying I’d tell you after we got done with the Worldkillers, so you wouldn’t have to deal with helping Sam and me basically stabbing you in the back, but then we did and I chickened out. And then this thing with the Agents of Liberty started, and I didn’t want to tell you in the middle of all this, because what if they find out you know who I am? What if they find out how close I actually am to you? You could be in so much trouble. And I-” Kara broke off on a sob, and Lena realized she’d been getting closer and closer to tears throughout her whole speech. She had been staring at her hands too intently to notice.

“Lena, I’m so sorry, and I don’t expect you to forgive me right away, if ever, I went behind your back and they Kryptonite thing, I was in the wrong and-”

Lena held up her hand to stop Kara’s rambling. “I’m not gonna lie, I’m pretty mad. And you know what? I’m mad about the Kryptonite thing, but when I look back on it and think about you being Supergirl and finding out one of your closest friends was actively making a substance that can torture and kill you- yeah, I’d be hurt too. I’m not excusing your actions, that was a really shitty thing to do, but I’m saying I understand them a little more.” She took a deep breath, meeting Kara’s eyes. “It’s gonna take some time. But I think we’ll move past this.” 

Kara nodded tearfully, covering her face with her hands. “I really hope past you is as understanding about this as you are.”

Lena laughed. “Actually, past me is going to retain all the memories I have of my timeline and of the ones I’ll make until my timeline disappears.”

Kara gave her a weird look. Lena chuckled. “Kara, I made a huge, major change to the timeline, and now mine is going to disappear to make way for this new one. Slowly, but it will. And to me, it’s worth it.”

Kara gave her a watery smile. “Thanks, Lena.”

Lena reached out and gave Kara’s arm a gentle squeeze. Kara recognized the small step forward, toward repairing their relationship. Small, yes, but it was there. “Anytime, Kara.”

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey there! It's been a cold couple days, to say the least. I had two days of school off (at least- still waiting on the call for tomorrow. We're supposed to get snow and freezing rain tonight =P)  
> I hope all of you affected by the polar vortex are doing ok and staying warm. Good luck my friends.
> 
> hmu on [tumblr!](fabnamessuggestedbytumbl.tumblr.com)


	6. It's Like You're My Mirror

It was supposed to be a normal evening for Lena Luthor. Well, as normal as it could be when you were trying to hack into a government agency's radio frequencies. 

She didn't know why she did it. She was supposed to be angry with Supergirl, she was supposed to not trust her, she was supposed to want little to no contact with her. Yet she couldn't help that gnawing in the pit of her stomach during Supergirl's heroics. So she told herself that it was so if anything happened to Supergirl, or if they needed her help, she could be warned immediately. 

She had been working at it for several hours when,  _ finally,  _ something clicked. The speakers on her computer crackled to life, and Alex's voice came on over them. 

Her blood turned to ice when she realized what she was saying. 

_ “Supergirl? Supergirl, are you there?”  _ There was something said away from the mic. Something about Kryptonite in the atmosphere. Lena couldn't breathe.

_ “J'onn, are you there? Please, please, go find her, she last clocked in over the Nevada desert. She's losing altitude.” _

Lena chewed her lip. So much for an early warning so she could help. What was she supposed to do now? She squeezed her hands together so she wouldn't scratch herself, a bad nervous habit she had. 

Alex's voice came on again.  _ “Oh god, he's not gonna make it.”  _ It felt like someone had stabbed her in the stomach. 

Alex gasped.  _ “Hold on… what? J'onn, we've got a bogey! It's headed right for Kara!”  _

That brought Lena up short. Why were they tracking Kara, a human, on highly specialized military equipment? 

At Alex's next words, Lena breathed a sigh of relief.  _ “J'onn… it caught her.” _

And then, so faintly Lena almost couldn't he.ar it, came Supergirl's voice.  _ “Lena? My angel.” _

Lena's brow furrowed. What? She must have seen that wrong. After all, Lena was nowhere near Supergirl. She rubbed away a few black spots from her vision. She must be more tired than she realized.

There was a sound of rushing air over the speakers.  _ “J'onn, can you see what the bogey is?” _

_ “Yeah. It looks like… Lena Luthor.”  _

The black spots took over Lena's vision, and unconsciousness hit her like a sack of bricks. 

 

\----

 

_ She felt like she was in a haze. Everywhere she turned, there were murky memories. And they were hers, but also, somehow, not hers.  _

_ Every time she saw something new, the puzzle became a little clearer. She saw herself staring in horror at the computer screen, learning of Supergirl's death. She saw the grief in her face when she learned Supergirl was Kara.  _

_ What? Supergirl, Kara? That couldn't be.  _

_ But it made sense. Too much sense. And anger bubbled up in her chest.  _

_ But then she saw the funeral. Breaking up with James. She saw the reason, too, and the reason was the same in this timeline. It was also probably why she was so angry. Not that she would ever let herself say it out loud, or in her head for that matter.  _

_ She saw the weeks it took for her to sort through her rawest feelings of Kara's identity. At first it was blistering anger, and during those days she didn't get much work done. And then it was crippling grief and loneliness, and a sense of betrayal. And then it was a simmering anger, but the promise to work through it and forgive. The promise that she would have that chance.  _

_ And she saw the weeks she threw into time travel. The terrifying seconds she had to catch Supergirl. That gentle smile when she was saved.  _

_ And then there was explaining it to Alex and J'onn, which went better than expected.  _

_ And then Kara woke up, and she explained, and Lena knew she'd forgive her one day. Not now, but one day. Probably soon.  _

_ After all, who could be mad at Kara for an extended amount of time, especially when in the end she thought she was doing what was best? It was like trying to be mad at a puppy.  _

When Lena gasped and sat up, she found herself on her couch. A bloody rag fell onto her stomach, and Alex and J'onn were whispering in the corner. “Um… what happened?” 

She rubbed her head, thinking back to her strange dream. She normally didn't remember her dreams at all, but this one was clear as day. 

Alex noticed she was awake. She came and sat down on the end of Lena's couch. “I'm guessing you had a pretty weird dream.” Lena gave her a questioning look, and Alex continued. “I only guessed because I know the cause. And it wasn't just a dream.”

Len groaned, leaning back again. “You're telling me I time travelled here from the future? Yeah, right. I'll believe it when I see it.” 

Lena's head was spinning as it was. She didn't need Alex telling her a bunch of bs about time travel, which wouldn't be invented for thousands of years (according to the Legion). At every second, there were images being forced on her mind. Almost like a second set of new memories being made every second. It was nauseating. 

Alex stood, looking Lena dead in the eye. “I am so glad you said that. Now follow me, Lena. Please.”

Lena arched an eyebrow, but stood slowly. She stumbled a bit, and J'onn was there, wrapping an arm around her waist in a sort of fatherly gesture. 

Lena and J'onn followed Alex out of the office and into a black car. They drove to the DEO and were there in a matter of minutes. Lena tried not to puke as her brain tried to adjust to the onslaught of images assaulting her brain. 

Lena was guided to the med bath, where she guessed Kara was recovering from Krypnonite inhalation. What she did not expect to see, however, was a second Lena Luthor talking to her. “Told you.” Alex hissed in her ear. 

Lena stared, dumbstruck. Lena 2.0 (or was she 2.0?) Smiled back at her. “I'd explain, but I'm pretty sure the memories of my last two months have already come back to you. 

Lena nodded numbly. Kara rubbed her face. “You guys need name tags. Future Lena and Now Lena. I'll never be able to keep you guys straight.” 

Both Lenas almost choked on their own spit. Lena didn't know about her future counterpart, but she was fighting to resist the urge to make a gay joke. She noticed Alex smirking at her out the corner of her eye. 

Lena cleared her throat. “Can I, uh, have a minute with Kara?” 

Everyone else muttered a “yes” and shuffled out of the room. 

Lena walked over to Kara, trying to decide what she should be feeling. The double memories were  _ still  _ not helping. 

In the end, she slapped Kara. It probably hurt Lena more than Kara, but she had the good nature to look like it had. “I deserved that.” She said. 

Lena was crying suddenly. “I know why you didn't tell me. I remember you telling me- well, future me. But… it still hurts, Kara.”  

Kara looked up, meeting her eyes. “I'm so sorry, Lena. Of- if you never want to see me again, I understand. I-”

Lena laughed, but it sounded more like a sob. “I already told you, Kara. Or I will, I don't really know. I'm mad. I'm hurt. But I'll forgive you, and we'll move past this.” Kara nodded, seeming relieved she shared the sentiment with her future counterpart, and all Lena wanted to do was hug her. 

But she wouldn't. Not yet. One day soon, she would forgive Kara enough to hold her again. But not yet. 

 

\-------

 

_ National City, Two Months From Now _

The Agent gave their four subordinates a hard look. “We have orders from Big Man Liberty himself. We use Luthor's prototype, we gi back in time, we kill her. While we're there, if she saved Supergirl, we kill her too. Got everything you need?”

At their words, each Agent held up a glowing green dagger. Kryptonite weapons.

The Agent nodded. “If we fail, our timeline disappears. If we fail, we all die. Therefore, hold nothing back. Kidnap humans, kill them if you must. Anything to draw them out. We can pay for our sins in hell when our time comes. Our job is to make sure the roaches’ time comes early. Understood?” 

“Understood!” They all echoed. 

The Agent smiled wickedly behind their mask. “Good. Then let's get going.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We had another snow day today! I cant decide how I feel about that, because this is our 3rd one this week and now I'm REALLY behind in one of my classes (it requires materials I can't take home so =T) 
> 
> I hope you guys managed to enjoy this stupid cold few days we've had!


End file.
